Shiatsu is a Japanese word whose literal meaning is "finger massage". The term came into use when the Japanese government required that Amma be licensed. Some practitioners of Amma wishing to avoid government regulation incorporated Do-in and Japanese medical theory into a system that became known and promoted as Shiatsu.

Shiatsu is a form of physical manipulation developed in Japan in the twentieth century. Its originated from the ancient Chinese techniques of Do-in and Amma. Do-in was self massage practiced by yogic aspirants, while Amma resembles western massage. These two techniques are the oldest forms of medical treatment in the Orient. Amma spread from its birthplace in China to Japan in the middle of the sixth century AD. In ancient standard textbooks on Amma, the method described consisted of diagnosis and treatment. This was the first whole approach toward medicine. Today, Amma is practiced mainly by the blind for the purposes of pleasure and comfort.

Shiatsu itself started in the early part of the 20th century, following the publication of Shiatsu Ho by Tamai Tempaku. It was originally a branch of Amma, but was recognized as a distinct therapy in 1964.

The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare states, "Shiatsu therapy is a form of manipulation administered by the thumbs, fingers, and palms, without the use of any instrument, mechanical or otherwise, to apply pressure to the human skin, correct internal malfunctioning, promote and maintain health, and treat specific disease."

"(Zen Shiatsu) was developed in Japan in this century by Shizuto Masunaga, the author of Zen Shiatsu. It integrates a variety of oriental techniques and healing modalities. Most traditional schools of Shiatsu emphasize thumb pressure on points. Masunaga has us use our whole body to work with the other’s whole body. We use our forearms, elbows and knees, as well as our thumbs. Zen Shiatsu incorporates stretches, manipulations and ampaku work on the hara. It emphasizes being with another rather than doing something to them. This presence is manifested in the connected breath and the use of the "mother" hand, or elbow or knee, etc., that stays in one place, providing constant support, while the other works, a presence that is essential to help balance the energies. Masunaga says more is happening under the hand that stays in one place than in the one that is working. Zen Shiatsu’s eclecticism, its openness to a range of techniques and its emphasis on Zen presence and spontaneity, makes it the most creative of all oriental bodywork." From Watsu, Freeing the Body in Water, by Harold Dull

"I (Harold) went to Japan and studied with Masunaga the last year he taught. I had previously studied with his two students who first brought Zen Shiatsu to America: Reuho Yamada and Wataru Ohashi. I saw in the way each of these two had developed their own unique style, testimony to the creative power of Zen Shiatsu, and encouragement to plunge in when I began to transpose its principles and moves into water, and when I began to bring what I found in the water back up on land (Tantsu)." From Watsu, Freeing the Body in Water

It was in the early 80’s in the warm pool at Harbin Hot Springs that Harold Dull began floating people, applying the moves and stretches of Zen Shiatsu.

"The fundamental purpose of Zen is to achieve total human enlightenment through the discovery of one’s self." Shizuto Masunaga

In the 1st century AD Buddhist teaching made its way from India to China, influencing Taoist philosophy. This new Way reached Japan via China.

Practical, devoted to earthly concerns

Watsu is a human interaction, an application of philosophy for the reduction of suffering, for increased well being and awareness

Democratic, as in the Zen monasteries

In Watsu, we are not experts. We admit we do not know. We are equal with our client and share.

Non-verbal, because words "detach from realities and turn into concepts"

In Watsu, the therapist comes from behind his desk and in silence holds the client, accessing the space for healing. Emotional and psychic states are experienced directly, rather than referred to in speech.

As Watsu frees the body, the receiver feels relaxed, safe and goes within. Emotional release, psychic phenomena and realizations occur which bring her closer to her truth.

Beyond thought, non-cognitive

In Watsu we are present without intention toward the receiver. In being empty, a space is created in with the personal truth of the receiver may emerge.

Embodiment of Truth; the Zen Masters sought not merely to practice their ideals, but to become them

Watsu gives practitioners an exalted experience of how to relate and be.

Simplicity; eliminating the unnecessary, combating artificiality

In Watsu, the world reduces to the moment, to a movement, to an embrace.

In Watsu, our caring and compassion activate and we do not force through resistance or negate the limitations of our client.

These ideals of the Japanese Tea Masters pervade the practice and ethics of Watsu.

It is a fundamental tenet of Oriental medicine that the body is filled with an energy called chi, which must flow freely in order for the body to be healthy. Blocked chi leads inevitably to emotional or physical disorders. Shiatsu cures illness by guiding the patient’s natural energies. Illness appears when the body loses its harmony with nature due to an obstructing current of energy between the patient and nature. Thus the treatment will consist of stimulating the dormant total energy in the patient and restoring its circulation to normality.

Chi arises from the interaction of the Yin and Yang and it is the primary substance of the universe. There are many forms of chi. Water Chi is the life force inherited from our parents at the moment of conception and it is passed on from mother to child. Fire Chi is the life-force derived from food, drink and air.

When bodily energy backs up and becomes stagnant, a jitsu condition exists, characterized by points on the meridians that feel stiff and resistant. Usually this is easily treated; the blockage is stimulated and dispersed, allowing the normalized vitality to reassert itself. Chronic stagnation results in weakness and depletion of energy. This is the kyo condition, and requires a deep steady pressure to bring about healing. In the case of serious illness, jitsu may suddenly reverse and become kyo, or vice versa, as healing proceeds

Kyo is the condition of depleted energy, which is more hypo, while jitsu is the condition of excess energy, which is more hyper.

The technique used to normalize jitsu points is called sedation; to normalize kyo areas, tonification. In sedation, the jitsu area is simply stimulated and the protrusion will normalize itself. However, the hollow areas of kyo require patient holding. This takes more time because warmth must reach deep inside to nurture strength to normalize the area.

Behind every yang or jitsu condition there is a yin or kyo condition. Because kyo is fundamental to any disease, it must be tonified in order to cure the disease.

Acupressure vessels, or meridians, are located throughout the body. They contain a free-flowing, colorless, non-cellular liquid which may be partly actuated by the heart. These meridians have been measured and mapped by modern technological methods, electronically, thermatically, and radio-actively. With practice, they can also be felt.

Meridians are classified yin or yang on the basis of the direction in which they flow on the surface of the body. Meridians interconnect deep within the torso, but we work with the part that is on the surface and is accessible to touch techniques. Yang energy flows from the sun, and yang meridians run from the fingers to the face or from the face to the feet. Yin energy, from the earth, flows from the feet to the torso, and from the torso along the inside (yinside) of the arms to the fingertips.

Since the meridian flow is actually one continuous, unbroken flow the energy flows in one definite direction, and from one meridian to another in a well-determined order. Since there is no beginning or end to this flow, we represent the order of the meridians as a wheel.

As we go around this wheel following the meridian lines, the flow follows this order on the body:

from torso to fingertip (along inside of arm-yin)

from fingertip to face (along outside/back of arm-yang)

from face to feet (along outside of leg-yang)

from feet to torso (along the inside of the leg-yin)

We go through this four-step process three times in twenty-four hours to cover the twelve major meridians. Running the meridians with the hand can be a quick energizing massage.

There are specific acupuncture points, or tsubos, along the meridians. These points are electro-magnetic in character and consist of small, oval cells called bonham corpuscles which surround the capillaries in the skin, the blood vessels, and the organs throughout the body. There are some 500 tsubos which are being used most frequently in a definite sequence, depending on the action desired. They form small indentations under the skin along the energy meridians. They are subtle, and must be found intuitively by the fingers of the Shiatsu masseuse. A tsubo can signal to the practitioner the chi energy has stagnated in part of the body. The sensation of pain is part of the body’s protection system, a signal, a warning of bodily damage, disease, or malfunctioning. Whenever a light touch produces hyper-sensitivity in a tsubo it is a signal of a problem somewhere. The Shiatsu practitioner knows the tsubos and what pain they signify, and perceiving the possible danger, moves to protect the health of the patient.

"Without knowledge of oriental philosophy you will not be able to comprehend the meaning of life and therefore administer Shiatsu incorrectly.

The underlying principle (of Shiatsu) was, like Zen, to establish a life "echo" with the receiver of Shiatsu. Some Japanese are satisfied with not noticing this important feeling, but this reduces Shiatsu to a mechanical technique rather than a means of healing the life force within our bodies.

In Shiatsu your patient is your master. We are trying to understand the patient psychologically as well as physically.

(The Shiatsu practitioner) is the pivot whose function is to connect heaven, earth, and humans. This means that he plays a major role in combining the universal order of nature and morals of mankind.

Oriental medicine is not as rational as western medicine but if we respect the mysteries of life and make the patient aware of himself, disease will disappear and the patient will endeavor to get well on his own.

The basic and most important principle underlying health is the balancing of our life force and maintenance and reliance on our body’s own natural healing power.

In oriental medicine, we do not look for a specific disease but instead try to diagnose the unhealthy phenomenon that is occurring in a particular individual. We try to find out why this disease developed in the first place and work from there rather than search for a cure."

Shiatsu massage comes from the hara, the abdominal center of gravity and residence of the soul, according to Japanese tradition. In order for the practitioner to exert correct downward pressure from this center, the recipient lies on a mat on the floor, while the therapist applies firm, stable, vertical pressure from above. This allows the hara of the practitioner to contact that of the client, forming a unity which is a significant part of the healing".

The hara occupies the lower abdomen, bounded by the pelvic girdle, and it is here that all energy is routed, transformed, and redirected. The energy pathways of the body, or meridians all meet here; and imbalance or blockage is most evident in this area.

In Shiatsu, treatment is diagnosis, diagnosis is treatment.. In oriental medicine, four methods of observing phenomena are used: bo-shin; general diagnosis through observation, visually observing skin color, posture, hair texture, etc.; bun-shin; diagnosis through listening to body sounds like the voice, breath, digestion, joints; and pulses, mon-shin; diagnosis through questioning; and most importantly, setsu-shin; diagnosis through touch.

One technique used in oriental medicine as part of setsu-shin is the pulse technique, taken at six points on the wrist. Another technique is ampaku therapy or setsu-shin on the hara area. You can feel everything by diagnosing the hara, feeling the pathways of the hara for imbalance.

The massage may be done through loosened clothing, and begins with relaxing and warming stretches of the meridians and gentle rotation of joints. The masseuse may use fingertips, thumbs, palms, occasionally elbows, and even feet when pressing evenly and perpendicularly to the surface of the body. Pressure is steady and even; the intensity depends on the empathetic relationship between giver and receiver. Interspersed with the pressing techniques are palm rubs and kneading which suffuse the surface with blood, breaking up congestion and keeping the area warmed. Concentration from hara and relaxation of the whole body is natural. All Japanese culture is based on this principle. If you tighten your shoulders or extremities, your movement becomes clumsy and awkward. Training in the arts is simply how to eliminate this distorted tension. When your movement starts floating naturally, without any tension, real beauty comes out.

In Shiatsu we would be able to instinctively utilize the total mobility of our hands according to nature’s laws. Proper use of both thumbs and fingers is of utmost importance in administering good Shiatsu.

In ampuku therapy, pressure given directly on this area of the body is concentrated in the three fingertips, but the main source of strength should become from the wrists, with the thumb relaxed. Students are advised not to use the strength from the fingertips alone but from their elbows.

Noted for its soothing penetration, this (palm technique) is the most widely used technique in Shiatsu. To exert effective but comfortable pressure, the palms remain relaxed on the body, while the arms support your body weight. The angle of your body in relation to your arms will determine the amount of pressure being applied to the patient. The feeling of pressure on the body should resemble the pull of gravity--natural, effective, but unobtrusive.

Firm pressure applied vertically on the body promotes good health.

Pressure applied without movement is essential in giving good Shiatsu. The length of time to hold each point varies from 2-7 seconds, but there are cases where 8-30 seconds is needed. Pressure applied in such a way penetrates into the body, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system which in turn calms the internal organs and body as a whole.

Techniques include:

1. crossed hands technique, one hand on top of the other.
2. undulating technique, shifting the pressure from your four fingers to your palms in a wavelike motion.
3. vertical pressure, plain or vibrating the palms to relax
4. circular massage, apply light pressure using a circular movement
5. rub down technique, the hand slides along the muscle in a vertical position
6. grasping technique, hold your patient’s body as if you were shaking hands or holding something and apply steady pressure.
7. thumb pressure, braced by the other fingers
8. two finger technique
9. two hand technique, in which one hand remains stationary and tonifying, while the other moves and sedates
10. fist technique
11. elbow technique
12. forearm technique
13. knee technique

The technique of Watsu differs from Shiatsu administered on land. On land, vertical pressure and a wide variety of body parts can be employed; gravity keeps the receiver in place. In Watsu, obviously, there are few positions in which vertical pressure can be administered without submerging the receiver. In the water, two hands are often required to create a counter balance to stabilize the receiver. She is held or traveled to be kept sustained at the surface. The mother hand is actively supporting or guiding the receiver. The receiver is often moved into the pressure, rather than the pressure moving into the receiver.

The technique in water lends itself more to stretching. The stretches of Zen Shiatsu are greatly enhanced in the water due to several factors: